"The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a mode of autobiography."
-- Oscar Wilde

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Down the Rabbit Hole: Adventures and Misadventures in the Realm of Children’s Literature, by Selma G. Lanes (1972)

Though perhaps
little remembered today, Selma G. Lanes
(1929-2009) was an influential editor and children’s book critic. Born in Dorchester, MA, she attended Smith College
after a stint at the Dorchester High School for Girls. She would eventually land in the Columbia
School of Journalism.

She
became editor of Parents Magazine, and
from there became managing editor of Western Publishing children’s book
division. During this time, she wrote
dozens of reviews on children’s books for the New York Times daily and magazine section. She was one of the first members of the
literary establishment to recognize the genius of Maurice Sendak (1928-2012), and would eventually write a book about
his art.

But Lane’s
great claim to fame were her two books about children’s literature, Down the Rabbit Hole, published in
1972, and much-delayed and far superior sequel, Though the Looking Glass: Further Adventures and Misadventures in the Realm
of Children’s Literature, published in 2004.

Down the
Rabbit Hole is a remarkable achievement, both as literary criticism and as a
historical document. Being a journalist,
Lane clearly recycles previous reviews and covered trends. Happily, there is a minimum of recycled
journalism in Rabbit Hole, and Lane includes original chapters that are as
fresh and insightful as they were over 40 years ago.

Lane
seemed to be among the first in the literary establishment to fully realize
Sendak’s genius, and her chapter comparing him to English illustrator Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) – of all
people – is something of a tour de force. Better still is her dissection of the
American fairy tale tradition, and just how unique and separate it is from its
European counterpart. She also sites L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) as one of the
central figures of American letters, a position as unpopular in 1972 as it is
today.

Lane
also provides historical context with a lengthy chapter on St. Nicholas Magazine, the first important periodical directed at
children. She writes at length on why
such a publication would be impossible in 1972 (as it would today!), and
mourns, to a degree, the then-incipient fracturing of our society.

Happily,
Lane also champions children’s serial fiction, finding much value in the
various adventures of The Hardy Boys
or Nancy Drew. She concludes that children do not see life
as a story with beginning, middle or end, but, rather, as a series of
adventures. It’s only natural that their
books reflect that view. More important,
the endings of individual titles in children’s series are often quite
disappointing … better still is the promise at the end of further adventures to
come. (Children weaned on everything
from Nancy Drew to Harry Potter become, I’m sure, besotted
by the continuing adventures of everyone from James Bond to Sherlock
Holmes.)

Her
finest chapter, though, was on the explosion of books for African-American
children. While applauding these books –
some of which by now are considered classics – she bemoans the loss of previous
books about black children chucked overboard in the name of Political
Correctness. (PC seems to be a scourge
of modern life – its baleful influence seemingly as potent then as now.) Lane pleads for both historical context and
intent when reading a work of the past, a simple catechism that seems
inexplicable to most college students today.

Though
Down the Rabbit Hole is sadly out-of-print, this title is easily gotten by
Abebooks.com or ebay, and is well worth the investment. Delightful reading for anyone seriously (or
even somewhat) interested in the genre.

In the
weeks to come, we will look at her follow-up book, Through the Looking Glass,
written more than 30 years later.

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James Abbott

James Abbott is a California-based writer and arts advocate. His online column The Jade Sphinx (http://thejadesphinx.blogspot.com/) champions the Fine Arts, featuring stories on such concepts as recognizable quality, artistic heritage and tradition, and techniques of the Great Masters.